OCTOBER 2024

“If you get a little cut or scrape, a stick-on bandage can help keep your blood on the inside, where it belongs. But just because bandages are useful doesn’t mean they have to be boring! For this month’s contest, design a fun bandage you wouldn’t mind wearing around. Maybe some nice flowers? Or is your style more an extra eye or a picture of a bloody wound? Send us your beautiful or bold boo-boo strips, and we’ll stick up a collection in an upcoming issue of ASK.”

Contest rules:

1. Your child’s contest entry must be their very own work. Ideas and words should not be copied.
2. Be sure to include your child’s name, age, and address on your entry.
3. Only one entry per person, please.
4. If you want your child’s work returned, please help them enclose an addressed, stamped envelope.
5. Your child’s entry must be signed or emailed by yourself or another parent or legal guardian, saying it’s their own work and that no one helped them, and that ASK has permission to publish their work in print and online.
6. For information on the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, see the Privacy Policy page at cricketmedia.com.
7. Email a photo or scan of your child’s artwork to: ask@cricketmedia.com. Entries must be emailed by October 31, 2024.
8. We will publish the winning entries in an upcoming issue of ASK.

OCTOBER 2024

“Sometimes it’s hard to guess what will happen next. Just ask Sluggo, whose gentle bedtime story, meant to lull everybuggy to sleep, terrifies one and all—or Kishna in “The Owl in the Henhouse” whose long-anticipated meeting with his cousin doesn’t go as planned. For this month’s contest, everybuggy would love to read your best poem about something unexpected or surprising.

Will your poem describe encountering an animal you never thought you would meet, like Katie first laying eyes on a legendary cat in “The Pirate King”? Or will you make up your own surprising explanation for an event in the natural world, following in the footsteps of the early
storytellers who inspired “The Fish Who Shook the Earth” with their tales of giant underground creatures causing earthquakes? Will you write about using an old skill in a new way, like Simon in “Scarecrows” turning his knack for scaring off crows into a clever trick to hold back an army? Maybe you’ll write about the unanticipated results of running for student council, following an unfamiliar forest trail, trying out a recipe, or experimenting with a new way of making art.

Whether the surprise in your poem is joyful or wistful, silly or sad, everybuggy in Cricket Country will be gathered at the mailbox, waiting to be astonished by your best poem—of 24 lines or fewer, please—about something unexpected.”

Contest rules:

1. Your child’s contest entry must be their very own original work. Ideas and words should not be copied.
2. Your child’s entry must be signed by yourself or another parent or guardian, stating that it is their own work, that no help was given,
   and that CRICKET has permission to publish it in the magazine and on our website.
3. Be sure to include your child’s name, age, and full address on their entry.
4. Only one entry per person, please.
5. If you want their work returned, enclose an addressed, stamped envelope for each entry.
6. Your child’s entry must be received by October 25, 2024.
7. Send entries to cricket@cricketmedia.com
8. We will publish winning entries in the February 2024 issue.

OCTOBER 2024

“Give garbage a new afterlife by turning it into something new. You might repurpose a milk carton as a bird feeder or turn a paper bag into a book cover. Maybe you’ll combine a toilet paper roll, old newspaper, and broken hairbrush to create an abstract sculpture or self-portrait. No matter the objects you choose, get crafty with your recycling and share a picture of your creation with us. We’ll fill a gallery of recycled works in an upcoming issue of MUSE.”

Contest rules:

OCTOBER 2024

“Write a poem about facing a fear.”

Here are the only rules:

1. Your story should be 150 words or fewer.
2. Your child’s entry must be signed by yourself, another parent, or legal guardian, authorizing its publication in print and/or online and saying it’s their own idea.
3. Be sure to include your child’s complete name, age, and address.
4. Your child’s entry must arrive by October 25, 2024. We will publish our favorites in the February 2024 issue of SPIDER.

Email your child’s entry to spider@cricketmedia.com.